State police seize meth, cocaine in North Syracuse apartment bust

A search at 458 South Main Street, Apartment 4, put a North Syracuse apartment building at the center of a drug case that state police say turned up crystal methamphetamine, cocaine and crack cocaine. The warrant, executed in the Village of North Syracuse by state police North Syracuse, the K9 Unit and the Troop D Violent Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Team, led to charges against Martin A. Guerrero, 56, of North Syracuse, and Frederick J. Crimmins, 40, of Syracuse.

Investigators said they recovered about 20 grams of crystal methamphetamine, 1 gram of cocaine, 1 gram of crack cocaine, a digital scale with residue and packaging materials commonly associated with narcotics distribution. Guerrero was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third and fourth degrees, criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree. Crimmins was charged with two counts of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree.

Guerrero was taken to the Onondaga County Justice Center pending centralized arraignment. Crimmins was issued an appearance ticket returnable to Town of Clay Court on June 9, 2026, at 5 p.m. State police did not say whether the apartment had been the subject of earlier complaints, but the search reflects how drug cases in the region often unfold inside homes and apartments rather than only on the street.

The case lands in a village with an estimated population of 6,773, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, where a single apartment search can have an outsized effect on nearby residents, landlords and property owners. In a compact community like North Syracuse, drug enforcement is not abstract. When police remove suspected narcotics from an apartment building, neighbors notice the immediate impact on safety, traffic and the sense of stability around the block.

The bust also fits a broader pattern in Onondaga County and across New York. County health officials say Onondaga County has seen an increase in opioid-related deaths since 2012, and the share of cases involving fentanyl has grown over time. State health officials have also reported that overdose deaths involving cocaine have been rising since 2010, with fentanyl increasingly appearing in overdose cases. That context helps explain why even a relatively small seizure of meth, cocaine and crack is treated as part of a larger public-safety problem in suburban neighborhoods that many people once assumed were insulated from the drug trade.